ᐅ New Single-Family Home Construction in Southern Germany
Created on: 18 Nov 2020 00:43
W
WilderSueden
Hello everyone,
after jumping straight into the basement discussion thread, I want to use this one as an introduction and idea-sharing thread. Some things might seem a bit chaotic at first, but that will surely clear up.
We are expecting our first child in February. Since two rooms are obviously too few for the long term, we need something larger. The housing market here in Konstanz is notoriously difficult, so we didn’t spend much time searching here. Thanks to Corona home office, we focused on areas a bit further away right from the start. Initially, we looked mostly at existing properties, but due to the poor condition of what’s on offer, we unexpectedly ended up deciding to build. We were actually lucky to get a plot in a new development area around Stockach-Pfullendorf. The site started being developed this week and will probably be buildable from summer onward.
Here are some key details:
- He/I am 33, work in the software industry, based in Konstanz, from a rural area
- She is 41, a teacher in the Hegau region, from a city that basically doesn’t exist
- One child on the way, no further children planned and unlikely due to her age
- Currently living in about 65sqm (700 sq ft) with 2.5 rooms in a lovely apartment building…
- Basically, we don’t want anything too fancy—no extensive smart home automation, no luxury mansion with marble and so on. Just something solid and nice. We are not building to fulfill a lifelong dream but to avoid renovating an old house worth half a million euros. Plain wallpaper texture and laminate flooring would be fine for us if the quality is good.
- Accordingly, we don’t mind using a “standard” floor plan from a prefabricated house builder or a typical model home.
- That said, since we are building, it should be energy efficient and we don’t want to use concepts that might soon be politically outdated or unsupported.
- Do-it-yourself work only to a limited extent, as we are neither professionals nor do we have relevant contacts. Also, the new house is a bit further away, so working on it in the evening is unlikely. A weekend of painting before moving in is no problem, and after moving in, doing the carport, terrace, and garden ourselves is also fine.
- The construction partner must be reliable.
Plot and financials:
- Plot roughly 700sqm (7,535 sq ft) at 98€ per sqm → 70,000€, fairly rectangular
- 120,000€ equity (with some reserve left)
- Financing and ownership entirely in my name (unmarried and no joint assets intended)
- Planned overall budget about 500,000€
- Target monthly payment 1,500€
- Accordingly, loan to be repaid in 25 years with that rate, with some extra repayments planned mid-term aiming for about 20 years total
Budget breakdown:
- Plot 70,000€
- Ancillary plot costs 5,000€
- Other construction-related fees 60,000€
- Basement 50,000€
- Kitchen 10,000€
- Driveway, carport, terrace as DIY 15,000€
-----
210,000€
Leaves about 290,000€ in the budget for the house itself, which is probably quite tight for what we have planned. The budget still needs to be adjusted with a buffer.
So far, our wishlist looks roughly like this:
- Not excessively large, more like 120–130sqm (1,290–1,400 sq ft)
- Efficient, modern house
- Photovoltaic system (possibly with battery storage)
- Underfloor heating with heat pump
- Home office for me on the ground floor (makes sense since I mostly work from home)
- Bedroom upstairs, one office for her that also serves as a guest room and reserve nursery
- Large open-plan kitchen/living area
- Basement
- Cistern
- Carport for two cars and one trailer
Our first contact about building was through an ad from the local Town & Country partner. The consultant was friendly, and the show house in Geisingen looked quite nice, but somehow it all felt a bit too conservative. Built according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016, standard gas heating. Sure, upgrades are possible, but I’m not sure if a heat pump makes sense under that regulation anymore. The fact that the show house had cracks in the plaster here and there isn’t exactly reassuring either. But the base price is lower. Current status: two meetings, visited the show house, haven’t requested the scope of services yet.
Then we looked a bit into prefab houses. Most offer KfW55 standard, which is closer to what we want and would be a good base for going to KfW40+ since a photovoltaic system is already planned (probably just with battery preparation though). Visited the park in Villingen-Schwenningen. Had a long chat with Schwabenhaus; the consultant seemed to want to downplay costs and was very keen to sell a ground-source heat pump with boreholes. The upgrade options for the promotional houses looked likely to increase costs significantly. Visited Heldhaus, liked it quite a lot but their cost outline overshoots the budget by roughly 100,000€.
Today we had an appointment with Schwörerhaus. The floor plan of one of their promotional houses fits pretty well. Basement plus KfW40+ seems somewhat challenging in combination. Otherwise, a generally good impression; the briefly reviewed scope of services doesn’t give the impression the house would be unpleasant to live in. Let’s see what the first offer will look like. I don’t get the feeling there’s much that could go wrong there.
Next week we have an appointment with Weberhaus. We found a floor plan we really like. The price is initially the highest, but their examples include KfW40+ standard and smart home automation upfront.
Our goal is to narrow down the number of companies we continue with to a maximum of two by Christmas and then decide on a construction partner early next year. In spring, the baby will take priority, not just house planning.
I’ve already posted some thoughts about the basement and possible basement substitutes. The insulation costs for the basement seem to fully consume the additional subsidies, so the photovoltaic battery would have to be paid out of pocket again. One idea on the drive back from the appointment was whether it makes sense to build the house initially to KfW55 standard without extra insulation. The difference in heating costs is relatively small. Then install just the conduit pipes for photovoltaics with battery preparation. A few years later, add a battery once prices drop. That would also likely bring the house closer to the planned budget than going for KfW40+.
These are my thoughts so far. Have I missed anything important?
after jumping straight into the basement discussion thread, I want to use this one as an introduction and idea-sharing thread. Some things might seem a bit chaotic at first, but that will surely clear up.
We are expecting our first child in February. Since two rooms are obviously too few for the long term, we need something larger. The housing market here in Konstanz is notoriously difficult, so we didn’t spend much time searching here. Thanks to Corona home office, we focused on areas a bit further away right from the start. Initially, we looked mostly at existing properties, but due to the poor condition of what’s on offer, we unexpectedly ended up deciding to build. We were actually lucky to get a plot in a new development area around Stockach-Pfullendorf. The site started being developed this week and will probably be buildable from summer onward.
Here are some key details:
- He/I am 33, work in the software industry, based in Konstanz, from a rural area
- She is 41, a teacher in the Hegau region, from a city that basically doesn’t exist
- One child on the way, no further children planned and unlikely due to her age
- Currently living in about 65sqm (700 sq ft) with 2.5 rooms in a lovely apartment building…
- Basically, we don’t want anything too fancy—no extensive smart home automation, no luxury mansion with marble and so on. Just something solid and nice. We are not building to fulfill a lifelong dream but to avoid renovating an old house worth half a million euros. Plain wallpaper texture and laminate flooring would be fine for us if the quality is good.
- Accordingly, we don’t mind using a “standard” floor plan from a prefabricated house builder or a typical model home.
- That said, since we are building, it should be energy efficient and we don’t want to use concepts that might soon be politically outdated or unsupported.
- Do-it-yourself work only to a limited extent, as we are neither professionals nor do we have relevant contacts. Also, the new house is a bit further away, so working on it in the evening is unlikely. A weekend of painting before moving in is no problem, and after moving in, doing the carport, terrace, and garden ourselves is also fine.
- The construction partner must be reliable.
Plot and financials:
- Plot roughly 700sqm (7,535 sq ft) at 98€ per sqm → 70,000€, fairly rectangular
- 120,000€ equity (with some reserve left)
- Financing and ownership entirely in my name (unmarried and no joint assets intended)
- Planned overall budget about 500,000€
- Target monthly payment 1,500€
- Accordingly, loan to be repaid in 25 years with that rate, with some extra repayments planned mid-term aiming for about 20 years total
Budget breakdown:
- Plot 70,000€
- Ancillary plot costs 5,000€
- Other construction-related fees 60,000€
- Basement 50,000€
- Kitchen 10,000€
- Driveway, carport, terrace as DIY 15,000€
-----
210,000€
Leaves about 290,000€ in the budget for the house itself, which is probably quite tight for what we have planned. The budget still needs to be adjusted with a buffer.
So far, our wishlist looks roughly like this:
- Not excessively large, more like 120–130sqm (1,290–1,400 sq ft)
- Efficient, modern house
- Photovoltaic system (possibly with battery storage)
- Underfloor heating with heat pump
- Home office for me on the ground floor (makes sense since I mostly work from home)
- Bedroom upstairs, one office for her that also serves as a guest room and reserve nursery
- Large open-plan kitchen/living area
- Basement
- Cistern
- Carport for two cars and one trailer
Our first contact about building was through an ad from the local Town & Country partner. The consultant was friendly, and the show house in Geisingen looked quite nice, but somehow it all felt a bit too conservative. Built according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016, standard gas heating. Sure, upgrades are possible, but I’m not sure if a heat pump makes sense under that regulation anymore. The fact that the show house had cracks in the plaster here and there isn’t exactly reassuring either. But the base price is lower. Current status: two meetings, visited the show house, haven’t requested the scope of services yet.
Then we looked a bit into prefab houses. Most offer KfW55 standard, which is closer to what we want and would be a good base for going to KfW40+ since a photovoltaic system is already planned (probably just with battery preparation though). Visited the park in Villingen-Schwenningen. Had a long chat with Schwabenhaus; the consultant seemed to want to downplay costs and was very keen to sell a ground-source heat pump with boreholes. The upgrade options for the promotional houses looked likely to increase costs significantly. Visited Heldhaus, liked it quite a lot but their cost outline overshoots the budget by roughly 100,000€.
Today we had an appointment with Schwörerhaus. The floor plan of one of their promotional houses fits pretty well. Basement plus KfW40+ seems somewhat challenging in combination. Otherwise, a generally good impression; the briefly reviewed scope of services doesn’t give the impression the house would be unpleasant to live in. Let’s see what the first offer will look like. I don’t get the feeling there’s much that could go wrong there.
Next week we have an appointment with Weberhaus. We found a floor plan we really like. The price is initially the highest, but their examples include KfW40+ standard and smart home automation upfront.
Our goal is to narrow down the number of companies we continue with to a maximum of two by Christmas and then decide on a construction partner early next year. In spring, the baby will take priority, not just house planning.
I’ve already posted some thoughts about the basement and possible basement substitutes. The insulation costs for the basement seem to fully consume the additional subsidies, so the photovoltaic battery would have to be paid out of pocket again. One idea on the drive back from the appointment was whether it makes sense to build the house initially to KfW55 standard without extra insulation. The difference in heating costs is relatively small. Then install just the conduit pipes for photovoltaics with battery preparation. A few years later, add a battery once prices drop. That would also likely bring the house closer to the planned budget than going for KfW40+.
These are my thoughts so far. Have I missed anything important?
Schimi1791 schrieb:
Storage space is important when it is used MEANINGFULLY.Exactly! That doesn’t include an armchair that is still in good condition: if you build properly, you’ll find a place in every room to keep a still-good armchair as a (decorative) object, basically for temporary storage, parking it for a while, decorating. Furniture doesn’t belong in the attic anymore. Those days are over.
There are replaceable pieces of furniture that aren’t worth carrying up the stairs at all, and then there are pieces that would lose their soul in a basement or attic. In that case, you need to give other people the opportunity to take care of the furniture if you have no space for it yourself.
Older people who nowadays have to separate because they have to move die several deaths before the real one when they must part with dowries, old furniture, and dishes. Back then, things were just done that way – but nowadays, one should act knowledgeably when ready to build a house and establish their own household. That also means questioning “old habits” or traditions, especially why you carry on what the older generation did, when you find most of what they do “old-fashioned” anyway.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/die-liste-die-jeden-bauherren-zu-interessieren-hat.34418/
Hausbau0815 schrieb:
Admittedly, I belong to the category of hunters and gatherers The reflection of a chaotic soul is the cluttered surface in the browser – a collection of tabs. That’s also the reflection of the house… fits perfectly! :p
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WilderSueden23 Dec 2020 12:17Schimi1791 schrieb:
Sometimes I wonder where such things disappear to in these new builds without basements or attics.At my cousin’s place, I suspect everything ends up in his parents’ barn (an old farm). But that’s certainly not a sustainable solution. I definitely can’t imagine building without any storage space at all.ypg schrieb:
The mirror of a messy person’s soul is the cluttered surface in their browser -> a collection of tabs. That’s also the mirror of the house... fits perfectly! :pI usually have around 40-50 tabs open in my browser all the time...W
WilderSueden23 Dec 2020 12:32This morning, I also received an offer from the local general contractor. The detailed construction specifications are still pending, so it’s difficult to make a proper comparison. But even if you subtract items like earthworks, which are already included in the offer, there’s definitely no hope that it will be significantly cheaper than, for example, Weberhaus. I’m a bit frustrated right now because of this. Somehow, all the offers seem to come in just under €3000 per square meter (approximately $330 per square foot), no matter the provider. The statement from the HeldHaus salesperson, who once predicted I’d need a budget of €600,000 (around $660,000) "even with other providers," keeps coming back to me. We’re not quite there yet, but the basement is currently excluded, and the local general contractor’s offer also doesn’t include a 40+...
WilderSueden schrieb:
I usually have about 40-50 tabs open in my browser all the time... That fits well with the attitude "what I have, I’m not giving up" :p
WilderSueden schrieb:
But even if you subtract things like earthworks that are already included in the offer Do you actually read what is being written here? Earthworks are always additional, since the 30cm (12 inches) from the general contractor are never enough.
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